iPad sleeve three ways

Are you an “early adopter”? One of the first to own a new Apple iPad? Be the envy of your friends not only for having the coveted device, but for having the coolest carrying case on the block. This tutorial contains three variations on the pattern to allow you to choose the one that best suits your style. These iPad sleeves use the new Moda Snuggle fabric to create an inner lining that is both soft and protective.

1 jelly roll. I used “Odyssea” by MoMo.

1 jelly roll of Bella Solids, or a cut of a coordinating solid print. Measurements for each sleeve variation are below.

Sew your strips together, alternating your prints and your solids. Start with a solid strip at the top and end with a printed strip at the bottom. Orient any directional prints accordingly. You should end up with a pieced sleeve exterior measuring approximately 20″ x 12.5″. Trim down to 20″ x 12″.

Baste the sleeve exterior to the batting. I like to use a thin layer of spray baste for a small project such as this.

Quilt as desired. I free-motion quilted an all-over meandering pattern. Straight-line quilting patterns, such as stitch in the ditch or outline quilting, would work nicely here too.

Now is a good time to embellish the front of your sleeve as you’d like. Topstitching a coordinating piece of ribbon from side to side would look nice. So would a small collection of vintage buttons, or an appliqued design, monogram, or initial. Don’t be afraid to personalize your design.

Remember which opening is your top opening, and stitch the side and bottom openings closed with a single seam. With your fold on the left, starting at the top right stitch down the right side and across the bottom. Use a backstitch at the start and end of your seam, and pin first if you find that to be helpful. Leave the top open.

Repeat this step with your lining piece. Remember to fold it with right sides together and leave the top open. You should now have two pouch-like pieces that are closed on three sides and open on the top.

Turn your lining piece inside out so that the Snuggle fabric is on the outside. Place your lining inside of the exterior pouch and push in the corners until it fits snugly. Your exterior strip piece and Snuggle fabric should be facing each other on the inside of the pouch, with your batting later on the outside of the pouch. I alternated the side seams so that the seam of exterior layer was on the right side and the seam of the lining layer was on the left side.

Line up and pin your interior and exterior layers together around the top.

Stitch the pieces together around the opening, leaving about a 4″ hole between the start and end of your seam. Backstitch at the beginning and end of your seam.

3. Finish your iPad sleeve:

Pull the interior and exterior portions of the sleeve through the 4″ opening that you left open at the top of the sleeve. Push out all corners, smooth out your sleeve, and press as needed.

With a coordinating thread, topstitch (or use a decorative stitch) around the top edge of the sleeve to sew the opening closed.

OPTIONAL: for a more finished look, select another jelly roll strip and bind the top of the sleeve as you would bind a quilt. You can also tuck the ends of two pieces of ribbon underneath opposite sides of your binding to create a nice tie for securing your iPad in the sleeve.

Layer a folded jelly roll strip between 2 solid strips, aligning all of the raw edges.

Sew all layers together. Press open. You will see that the folded strip is now layered in the seam of the solid strips.

With your pleat facing downward, line up the raw edges of another folded strip to the top raw edge and layer another solid strip on top. Sew all the layers together and press open, with the pleat facing the same was as the first one. You can see how you are now creating the exterior of the sleeve to have pretty little pleats for added texture.

Continue piecing the strips together in this manner until you have a piece measuring approximately 20″ x 12.5″. (For the final layer, which should be a folded jelly roll strip, simply baste it to the top-most solid strip using about an 1/8″ seam.

Baste the sleeve exterior to the batting. I like to use a thin layer of spray baste for a small project such as this.

Quilt as desired. I quilted in straight lines by stitching in the ditch 1/4″ from each seam. This technique, or stitching in the ditch, will help your pleats to lay flat.

Trim your quilted piece down to 18.5″ wide x 11.5″ tall.

Follow steps 2 and 3 (assembling and finishing your sleeve) above.

Version C – Dynamic diagonals:

1. Create the sleeve exterior:

Start with your 20″ x 12″ piece of quilt batting. This will serve as a template for the exterior of your quilt sleeve.

Using the batting as a guide, begin cutting and laying out jelly roll strips in an eye-pleasing diagonal layout, making sure the strips have some overhang on either side of the batting template. Once you have your design and your strips are cut, move them to the side.

Beginning at the bottom left corner, place your first diagonal strip on the batting and then the second strip on top of it, right sides together. Move your piece of batting to the machine and stitch all three layers together. Press the strips open. You can now see how you will be assembling the exterior of the sleeve, strip by strip, directly to the batting.

Once you have sewn all strips to the batting, trim the overhanging pieces from the sides. You can use your batting as your guide, keeping in intact at 20″ x 12″.

Quilt as desired. I used a decorative stitch along each seam. Straight-line quilting (such as outline stitching or stitching in the ditch) would work nicely here, as would an all-over quilting pattern or free-motion meandering pattern.

Now is a good time to embellish the front of your sleeve as you’d like. Topstitching a coordinating piece of ribbon from side to side would look nice. So would a small collection of vintage buttons, or an appliqued design, monogram, or initial. Don’t be afraid to personalize your design.

Trim your quilted piece down to 18.5″ wide x 11.5″ tall.

Follow steps 2 and 3 (assembling and finishing your sleeve) above.

A stylish new sleeve to protect your iPad and carry it in style!

Feel free to “hack” this tutorial to (as Randy Jackson would say) “make it your own, dawg”. Want to add straps, flaps, snaps, or other fasteners? I’d love to see it! Be sure to post your finished iPad sleeves in the Moda Bake Shop Flickr group.

Post navigation

Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

Our Books

Contact Us

Fields marked with a * are required.

Name *

Email *

Message *

How many squares are in a charm pack? *

&COPY;2009-2014 Moda Bake Shop
The individual designers featured on this website ultimately hold the copyright for their projects and designs posted on the Moda Bake Shop. Patterns are not intended for sale or digital distribution. All items made from Moda Bake Shop patterns are for personal, non-commercial use only, unless given explicit written permission from the design owner to sell finished products made from their pattern tutorials featured on the Moda Bake Shop.